Monday, March 06, 2006

What's Wrong With South Dakota

So South Dakota has decided that the time is right to challenge Roe v. Wade.

While I support a State’s right to regulate abortion as they see fit, this is just a dumb move.

At best, there are four votes to overturn Roe: Thomas and Scalia who are on the record as opposing Roe in Casey, and Roberts and Alito who are Bush appointees and can therefore be characterized as ant-Roe.

The Supreme Court would have no choice to take up an appeal of this case, and then Roe will then be reaffirmed 5-4.

Unless Governor Rounds has some inside information that Ginsburg or Stevens is about to retire, this is really dumb.

posted by LWY, 4:22 PM

9 Comments:

Supreme Court will only grant cert if both the District and Circuit Courts fail to apply Roe.

if the d.ct. and the circuit apply roe, the S.Ct will never grant cert unless they think there are votes to overturn it.

even assuming four to overturn it (which I think is a false assumption), those 4 wouldn't vote to grant cert unless they were sure there was a fifth. And there's no reason for the 5+ that would affirm Roe to grant cert in such an open and shut case.

Never gonna happen, unless there's a fifth vote we don't know about. And being a court watcher, I don't see Roberts or Alito as a sure thing to vote against roe. Restrict it on the margins, maybe, but not overturning a 30+ year precedent that's been affirmed numerous times.

About Me

The former Classmate-Wearing-Yarmulka risess from the ashes of the bar exam...
Economic libertarian, social conservative, Constitutional originalist, you get the idea.
I can be reached at lwyarmulka AT gmail DOT com